


Circus Dreams

by AtPK



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, farisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-08 17:24:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4313841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtPK/pseuds/AtPK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Farisa Week Drabble: Dreams (Day 1)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Circus Dreams

Isabel saw the banners dotted around, tacked to the board walls of houses, pasted to the stone of the caverns; the traveling theatre would be putting on a performance in the great cavern. The banners had a picture of actors on a stage, dressed in vibrant colours, gesturing wildly.

Levi would say: “Fucking assholes, coming down here, thinking they’re better then us.”

Farlan would say: “They don’t even see all the starving kids. They just light incense to cover up the stink of shit.”

All Isabel saw was the beautiful dresses, and perfect hair; the lovely painted faces, and she wanted so badly to be like them.

“What’re you looking at?” Farlan asked at her side, and she quickly turned away from the banner, looking up at him.

“Right now, I’m looking at your ugly face.” she quipped, with a laugh.

It wasn’t worth mentioning it to either Farlan or Levi, they wouldn’t understand, and it’s not like they had that kind of money to throw away. She glanced once more at the banner and then dragged Farlan to one of the market stalls, pushing it to the back of her mind.

Maybe one day she’d get to put on a pretty dress and style her hair and make up her face, but that day wasn’t likely to be anytime soon. Today, she had a shopping list, and Levi’d been very specific about what he wanted them to get.

It was a few days later, while the house was empty, that she once again let herself think about the traveling theatre. As she was scrubbing the kitchen table, she imagined herself standing in the great cavern, surrounded by the Central city nobility. As she cleaned the windows, she imagined herself drinking from one of the tall slim glasses, an alcoholic liqueur she’d never even heard of before, let alone tasted. As she brushed the floor, she imagined herself sitting on one of the plush velvet chairs, watching the play with rapt attention.

Isabel wasn’t entirely sure where the other two were; they’d said something about a job, they’d been incredibly vague and annoying, and they’d left her on her own, insisting that she couldn’t come; Levi had even called over his shoulder that she could always clean the house if she wanted to make herself useful.

She always wanted to make herself useful to Levi, she did owe him her life after all, and so she had thrown herself into the challenge happily. But that had been hours ago and now she was bored and fed-up of being alone.

It was Farlan’s voice that she heard first, chattering away excitedly, and she felt her heart trip and then beat faster in anticipation of seeing him. It was Levi who stepped into the house first, looking around him appreciatively at the evidence of Isabel’s hard work.

“You’ve been busy,” he said, slipping his jacket off and putting the box he’d been carrying down on the table.

“Well, I didn’t have anything better to do, did I?” she moaned and gave Farlan an accusatory glare. He ducked his head, looking at her sheepishly, and she knew instantly that they’d been up to something. “Where have you been anyway?” She glanced at Levi. “What’s in the box?”

Farlan stepped closer, and her heart sped up at his closeness to her.

“I saw you, the other day; the way you were looking at that banner. And I remembered what you were saying before, how it was your dream to feel like a princess for a day.”

“I never said that,” her cheeks burned furiously.

“You did,” he countered. “You were just a bit drunk when you said it.”

Isabel thought she vaguely remembered it now; they’d snuck out to the vent and watched the stars for a time, drinking beer and sharing secrets. Isabel hadn’t thought she’d told him about that particular dream though. It was just too embarrassing.

Farlan stroked her hot cheek and smiled at her before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out two tickets, presenting them to her. Her heart stopped beating for an instant and then pounded in her chest. She recognised the gold gilt and red brocade from the banner. She looked up at him and he nodded.

“They’re for tonight though, so we don’t have much time to get ready.”

It took a few heartbeats longer for it to sink in; she was going to the traveling theatre. Tonight.

“Yawww,” she screeched and launched herself into Farlan’s arms, fastening her legs around his waist and covering his face in kisses. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.” she chanted with each kiss. He laughed, and held her tightly. Isabel didn’t know what they’d had to do to get the money for these tickets, something extremely dangerous or extremely illegal, or both; but right at that moment she couldn’t think about that. Right at that moment all she knew was that she was going to the ball. “But I don’t have anything to wear.”

The realisation was crushing. The disappointment too real.

“Levi,” Farlan said, as Isabel slipped out of his arms, and Levi slid the box on the table towards her. It was like a dream. She took the few steps over to the table and carefully lifted the lid off the box. She had to move several layers of paper before her hand touched the soft gossamer, and the tears started to well up in her eyes. It was simple, white, flowing, beautiful.

Levi looked uncomfortable, and his discomfort only grew when Isabel wrapped her arms around him. He stood still in the circle of her arms before sighing and scruffing her hair. “Idiot,” he murmured.

“Thank you, Levi.” she murmured back.

Isabel pulled the dress out of the box, putting it up against her and twirling around the room.

“But it isn’t even my birthday, or anything?”

“Does it have to be your birthday for people to do nice things for you?” Levi asked.

In the underground, usually, yeah. Her love for the two young men standing in front of her was suddenly overwhelming.

“Go and get changed, Bel.” Farlan said and she nodded, running for the bedroom. The dress felt soft against her skin, light and airy. It wasn’t anything special, not like the dresses the ladies from the Capital would be wearing, but it was hers and it made her feel like a princess.

She pulled out her pigtails and spent the next few minutes wetting her frizzy hair, and combing it straight, trying to get the knots out.

Farlan had changed too, while she was getting ready, and when she stepped out of the bedroom, they both just took a moment to stare at each other, Farlan’s eyes blazing with adoration.

“You’d better go, or you’ll miss the beginning,” Levi warned, pushing them to the door. “Don’t be too late home.”

“Yes, dad.” Farlan replied and Isabel yanked the door shut behind them to cut off Levi’s foul-mouthed response. They both laughed softly.

“When exactly did Levi become such a mother hen?” Farlan asked, his voice still full of laughter.

“Maybe when he took two little chicks under his wing.”

“We’re practically the same age.” Farlan bristled and Isabel patted his arm, reassuring.

They may have almost been the same age, but Levi had always acted so much older, he’d done so much more, he’d been forced to grow up a long time before either she or Farlan had. Isabel pushed such thoughts aside and slipped her arm through Farlan’s, pulling in close to his side, resting her head on his shoulder. It was nice. It was safe.

The great cavern was awash with light. Isabel felt a little sick to her stomach as they approached the entrance, acutely aware of the Military Police patrolling the area. Farlan handed over their tickets to the doorman and they were ushered through.

It was just as she had imagined, only a hundred times better.

Farlan got them each a flute of sparkling wine, and they stood in the centre of the cavern watching all the pomp and ceremony with amusement, tinged with awe. Farlan kissed her, an arm around her waist, pulling her into him. She smiled at him brightly when they stepped apart to enter the seating area; the teirs of stone seats carved into the bare stone.

It was the story of how the first king had saved them from the titans by building the walls strong and tall to keep the danger out. Isabel was so intent on watching the actors on the stage that she hadn’t noticed the actors moving among them dressed as titans, ugly and misshapen and grotesque. Isabel screamed when one of them popped its head up in front of him her, and then she ducked under Farlan’s arm. He laughed and held her.

“I’ll protect you from the titans Bel, don’t you worry about that.” He sounded so earnest.

Isabel giggled until she snorted and then giggled some more.

It was perfect.

She had never imagined that this dream would be made real, but it gave her hope that maybe her other dream would also come true; her dream that one day they would live above ground, all three of them, and they would have a house with a garden, and maybe some chickens, because people above ground always seemed to have chickens.

She snuggled in closer to Farlan.

And maybe when they had that life, many years from now, she and Farlan could get married and start a family, and Levi could be an uncle.

She looked up at Farlan and he looked down at her, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“I love you Bel.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
